In Modi’s constituency Varanasi, India’s next temple-mosque spat explodes

Hindu devotees line up to enter the Kashi Vishwanath temple next to the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi [File: Jalees Andrabi/AFP]

Varanasi/Bengaluru, India – A festive atmosphere engulfed Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities situated on the banks of the river Ganga.

It was the week Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the new temple to the Hindu deity Ram where the 16th century Babri Masjid once stood in the city of Ayodhya, 200km (124 miles) to the north.